


Liquid Courage

by koalasmiles



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, F/M, One Shot, Shirbert, Study Group, Why must my friends give me super specific prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:27:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24733885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalasmiles/pseuds/koalasmiles
Summary: Just because they were in the same study group didn't meant they would ever get along.Right?
Relationships: Diana Barry & Ruby Gillis & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 82





	Liquid Courage

When Gilbert’s professor had assigned everyone study groups, he didn’t think he could possibly be lucky enough to be in the same group as the cute redhead who sat in front of him every day. It completely surprised him when he was put in a group with her. The English class wasn’t part of his major, but he figured it was important for doctors to know how to write well, so he signed up anyways. He was glad he did, because even on the off chance that he didn’t learn anything, he got to meet the cute girl in front of him.

He had tried to make a good first impression with her on the first day, he really had. But, looking back, he supposed that calling her “Carrots” to try to get her attention probably wasn’t the best idea. After smacking him over the head with her textbook, she had stormed out of the classroom, and he could only think that it was lucky he had waited until the lecture was over to try to talk to her, or else she might have gotten points off for her absence. 

* * *

The first time they met up as a study group, he was running late. He tried his hardest to be on time, but there was a big group in front of the library that he couldn’t, for the life of him, get through. When he finally got through and got to the table, he was out of breath. The three girls in the group didn’t seem to mind, though, as they were deep in discussion about some advanced literary topic that he didn’t understand. 

“Are you all in the same major then? You seem to get along well. I’m Gilbert, by the way.”

The girls looked over at him. The brunette, who’s name he remembered was Diana, smiled along with the blonde, Ruby. The cute redhead, he noted, was not.

“I’m Diana, this is Ruby, and that’s Anne. And yes, we are all English majors, but we’ve been friends for years.”

Anne met his eyes, tilted her head. “You know what they say, birds of a feather flock together.”

Lost in her gaze, he could hardly think as he finished it for her. “Until the cat comes.”

Her eyes got as fiery as her hair. “Excuse me?”

“You know, the full phrase? ‘Birds of a feather flock together until the cat comes’? It’s a warning about fair weather friends.”

“Are you saying that my friends are going to abandon me?”

He took a step back in surprise. “No, not at all, I wasn’t thinking, I’m so sorry. I had assumed that, as English majors, you guys would know the full phrase. I’m really sorry.”

This seemed to only make her angrier. “Oh, so you think that you’re smarter than us, mister high-and-mighty pre-med? You think you know more than me?”

“No, I just read it somewhere, I know I’m definitely not better than you guys at English. This whole study group will probably be you guys getting into higher stuff while I’m stuck on the most basic concepts. Again, I’m really sorry, I wasn’t thinking when I said that.” He was stumbling with his words, trying his best to smooth over his stupid mistake. Diana and Ruby just looked amused at this.

Anne closed her eyes, seemed to calm herself, and sat back down. “Alright then, let’s get started actually studying.”

Gilbert couldn’t say he learned very much, as he spent much of his time stealing glances at the cute girl in front of him.

So her name was Anne.

He couldn’t get it out of his head.

* * *

Anne loved studying in the library. She wouldn’t say she romanticizes life so much as that she enjoys the little things in life. And to study as people go about their lives around her? She couldn’t help loving it. It made her feel like the protagonist of a novel. 

What she could not say she loved, was her friends bailing on her study group for it’s fourth meeting. 

She couldn’t truthfully say she was still upset with Gilbert. They seemed to get along just fine when they weren’t arguing, which seemed to be happening less and less. At the last study group, they actually got into a really long conversation about coffee beans. She couldn’t pinpoint when it started, or why it lasted for an hour, but she really enjoyed it. 

She sat down at their usual table with her coffee, wondering how she’s going to explain to Gilbert that Diana and Ruby decided that they were going to a party at Charlie Sloane’s rather than come to the study group. She didn’t even realize it when Gilbert sat down.

“Small crowd today, huh?”

Her head jerked up and she almost spilled her coffee. “Gilbert! I’m so sorry, Diana and Ruby wanted to go to a party and I told them that they should come to the study group because it’s really important that we learn this week’s lesson but they absolutely refused and —”

“Hey, no worries, I was actually going to go to my friend's party after this. I completely understand.”

She smiled. He had a way of putting her at ease. They dove into their notes, determined to understand the really hard lesson.

Thirty minutes into studying, they were already off the topic of English. 

“I don’t understand how you’ve never had a latte!”

Gilbert shrugged at this. “I’ve never really thought about trying one. I always drink my coffee black, so I never have much of a reason to go to the fancier coffee shops.”

She shook her head in amazement. “Come on. We’re going right now. I know for a fact that the Starbucks down the street is still open. We’re going.”

“But the lesson—”

“It’s not like we were studying anyways. Besides, this is a more important lesson. The lesson of good coffee.”

As they walked down the street, his hand brushed hers. She pulled hers back and fought down a blush. There’s no way she liked Gilbert Blythe, right?

* * *

As Gilbert sipped his overpriced coffee, he had to admit that Anne had a point. It was just sweet enough that it tasted nice without hiding the flavor of the coffee. He was sitting across from her, trying to think about anything other than how pretty she looked. Then he noticed the clock over her shoulder.

“Shit!”

This made Anne jump. “What’s up?”

“I promised Charlie that I would be at his party half an hour ago. I’m so sorry, do you mind if I go?”

“Charlie? Charlie Sloane?”

“Yep, that’s the guy. Do you know him?”

“No, but that’s the party that my friends are at. Do you mind if I come with you? If you can stand anymore of my presence that is.” She smiled during the last part and bumped his arm to let him know she was joking. 

“Of course! It’s not far from here, if you don’t mind walking.” His heart actually skipped a beat just thinking about spending more time with her.

As they set off toward Charlie’s, he noticed that her hand was brushing against his more and more. He smiled and looked over at her.

“What?”

“Oh! Nothing. Sorry.”

She shook her head and smiled. 

He made himself look straight ahead. 

_ Of course she doesn’t like you, you idiot. Stop fooling yourself. _

He could dream. At least she seems to like spending time with him. He could be happy as friends, if that’s all she wanted. He focused on the road again, leading her to his friend’s house. He’s probably just jittery from the caffeine. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. 

When he opened the front door, Anne looked surprised by the number of people that fit in the house. 

“Charlie is known for his big parties. It gets a bit loud.”

She nodded, and made her way inside through the moving bodies. They found a quiet corner, as much as the corner at a party could be quiet.

“Can I get you something to drink? There’s usually a full bar, but there’s always non-alcoholic drinks if you’d prefer.”

She shook her head, “Get me something to take this edge off.”

He nodded and made his way to the bar. 

By the time he got back with their drinks, Diana and Ruby were talking with Anne.

“I see that you guys found each other!”

Ruby, clearly drunk, just giggled when he walked over. Diana took her by the arm, gave Anne a look that clearly meant something, and dragged Ruby back to the living room, where people were dancing.

Gilbert and Anne were just talking and drinking for a while, when suddenly Anne perked up. “I love this song! Come on.”

He let her lead him to the dance floor, and loosely danced as she let herself spin, wild and free, usually braided hair flowing behind her. He was captivated. After a couple spins, she seemed to get dizzy, and he thought it might be best to get her sitting down. He brought her to a bench behind the house to get her away from the noise, and was surprised when she leaned her head on his shoulder. 

“I see why they call alcohol liquid courage. I would never dance like that in front of anyone otherwise.”

He smiled at this. “Well I think it was beautiful. You looked free. And you should really let your hair down more often.” He twirled a piece of her hair around one of his fingers. “It looks as fiery as your personality, and as beautiful as your heart.”

She was silent for a moment, before asking a small “Really?”

“You look gorgeous either way, but you truly look like yourself when you let it down.” He dropped the strand he had. “Taking that elective class was the best decision I’ve ever made, just because it let me meet you.”

She pulled her head off his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m being too forwa—”

He was cut off when she pulled him in to kiss him. He was surprised, but quickly met her passion with his own.

When she pulled away, seconds or eons later, he let out a quiet “Wow”.

She smiled, put her head back on his shoulder, took his hand in her own, and looked up at the stars.

**Author's Note:**

> There you go, Conor, are you happy now?


End file.
